What Is PMS and How Does CBD Affect It? Facts vs Fiction

Women experience 450 or more menstrual cycles in their lifetime. For women who suffer from painful periods, symptoms associated with menstruation can become emotionally and physically draining during their menstrual period every month. There are currently a number of remedies on the market including painkillers, anti-inflammatories, patches, hot water bottles and mood enhancing formulas that may bring some relief to women. However, these remedies might not meet the needs of every woman.

Premenstrual Syndrome

PMS stands for premenstrual syndrome. PMS symptoms occur up to a week before a woman’s menstrual cycle begins. Symptoms are not always the same for every woman. If you ask individual women what PMS is like, you will get a wide variety of answers. Medically speaking, it is classified as the symptoms that women experience after ovulation and prior to the shedding of the uterine lining during menstruation. Premenstrual symptoms can be both physical and emotional. If you do not have pregnancy symptoms, your estrogen and progesterone levels drop drastically. This drop brings on these symptoms which tend to persevere until the period starts.

The Symptoms of PMS

When looking into premenstrual symptoms, you should know there are a number of different types of PMS. You need to look at the symptoms you experience to determine what type(s) of PMS you have.

Around 80% of women with PMS suffer from symptoms such as:

Tension

Mood swings

Irritability

Crying

Hypersensitivity

May also result in menstruation period containing large clots.

Acne

Anxiety

Insomnia

Constipation or diarrhea

Some of these symptoms could be diet controlled. There are also some medications that bring a bit of relief. Conventional solutions are over-the-counter pain relievers and oral contraceptives (birth control pills). However, the long term effects of these medications on the body is not yet fully understood.

There is also a new trend of treating the symptoms of PMS with medical marijuana. More specifically CBD, which is an ingredient found in medical marijuana, has become popular for treating the pain and mood swings associated with the condition.

CBD and Treating PMS: Fact vs Fiction

In recent years, the medicinal properties of cannabis have become a hot topic. The plant has received more media attention than ever before, and for the first time this attention has been overwhelmingly positive. However, this has led to some sensationalism, particularly online.

Misconceptions about medical marijuana are common as a result. The general public are aware that it is known to have medicinal properties. However, it is still not uncommon for people to believe things about the plant that are completely untrue. Below are 4 such misconceptions explained.

CBD Doesn’t Work:

We’ve all heard stories about people not getting the results they were looking for when consuming CBD. Due to this they believe that CBD is a hoax. Regardless of the countless amounts of clinical and scientific studies based off of people who have experienced positive results.

This is largely down to the fact that the sensationalism surrounding medical marijuana has given people incredibly unrealistic expectations. They then become bitterly disappointed when it doesn’t live up to them. The fact is that the medical marijuana industry remains horribly under regulated and this means that quality consistency is difficult to find.

However, there is no doubting the healing powers of CBD for a whole host of illnesses, conditions and diseases.

CBD Can Cure Everything:

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are some people who believe that CBD is the answer to all of life’s problems. They sing its praises from the rooftops and tell the world about how CBD cured their cancer in a week, or cured their acne in a day.

These wild and often untrue claims have caused huge problems. They cause people to become suspicious and doubtful of any medicinal properties that CBD may have. They make it appear to be just another crazy fad that will pass in time. And they stop people from taking the drug seriously as a possible mainstream medication in the near future.

The truth is that CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system which is present in the human body. This system is responsible for the regulation of mood, pain and skin health. It is also strongly linked to the immune system. CBD acts as a supplement for the endocannabinoid system and it allows that system to self regulate.

Any illnesses or conditions which are caused by an imbalance in the endocannabinoid system are therefore, very likely to be vastly improved by CBD. These include:

Multiple Sclerosis

Parkinson’s Disease

Epilepsy

Mental illnesses such as depression and bipolar disorder

Skin conditions such as acne and eczema

Some forms of cancer

And many more

CBD Will Make You High:

This is probably the most common misconception there is about CBD. Most people who want to use CBD as a treatment for an existing condition want to do so without any euphoric consequences. They need to find a solution to their health problem that is going to improve their quality of life, not get in the way of being able to drive, work or take care of their family.

The fact is that CBD cannot make you high, and here’s why. THC is the only psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant. This means that THC is the chemical which causes that effect. When CBD is extracted from the cannabis plant, there is so little THC found in it that it has no effect whatsoever. So, treating PMS with CBD is safe and users will not get high from consuming the drug.

Using CBD

Common ways to get CBD into the bloodstream include:

Tinctures

Creams

Suppositories

Patches

Edibles

Drops

These are just some of the ways that CBD can be used. CBD oils can be used to improve a number of PMS symptoms, including the most severe and debilitating. There is still ongoing research into the benefits of CBD for PMS but the existing scientific data is very promising.

So far, studies have shown that CBD oils can offer combined relief for PMS symptoms without any serious side effects. As with any medication, treatment should be based on the individual and individual tolerances when using CBD.

Before treating your PMS with CBD, talk it through with a medical professional. THC is illegal in much of the world and CBD from certain sources can be too. Be sure to check your local laws and not conspire in any illegal activity.

PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) is a gorwing concern for many women, especially in relation to how it affects their mental health. CBD could be an alternative treatment Image Credit: By Aaron Amat on shutterstock